Longest day

"... he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning..." 2 Samuel 23.4

On Monday Annice dropped me at Trumpan and I walked into the setting sun as far as Waternish Point, where I spent a few fitful hours under my survival blanket until the light was sufficient to allow me to begin my trek along the peninsula ridge. This was to be a celebration of the summer solstice. It started well as I tramped through the evocative ruins of Unish House - the first of its kind on Skye, built as a base for the ill-fated 'Fife Adventurers' in their quest to suppress the MacLeods of Lewis. Eventually I reached the heathery slopes of Ben Geary. I could see the radio mast beckoning but then I hit the most unusual and exasperating surface I have ever struggled to cross. At the time it felt like mossy quicksand and I began to wonder if that radio mast was a mirage, as it didn't seem to be getting any closer!

After reaching the summit such was my exhaustion that I collapsed and only after taking in fluids and an energy bar did I feel able to continue. Crossing the road at Knockbreck, I followed a forestry track until it was time to take to the moor again for my next climb. When I hit the same mossy quicksand I knew it was time to seek an alternative route...

Life doesn't always go the way we expect or hope. Which is why those things which are constant exert such welcome and necessary stability. Imagine if the sun didn't necessarily rise to begin a new day? As if that wouldn't be bad enough, imagine if the Sun of Righteousness himself had not risen from the dead to begin new life for all who put their trust in him? We would not only be disoriented, we would be without hope. God is likened to the rising sun, both for his reliability and for his glory. Blessings on your day!